To Hell and Beyond
by Lolita Westmore
Summary: Aria Lovett would have been gang-raped if a small dog didn't scare off her attackers. When she arrives at the address engraved on his collar, she descends into a hell rivaling her own. Rated M for strong language, bloody violence (coming soon) and a near rape in the first chapter.
1. Intervention

**I've been toying with the idea of a far darker and grittier version of Courage for a while so hopefully I can accomplish that idea here. For those of you who flinch at foul language, you might want to steer clear of this fanfiction. Hope you guys enjoy this! *bows***

**I don't own **_**Courage the Cowardly Dog.**_

Without as much as a sigh, Aria collapsed on the ground and slowly closed her eyes to prevent tears from pouring out. The aging walls of the Victorian-era homes stood on either side of her, sternly looking down on her fatigued and quivering figure in the darkness. Even though a shaft of buttercup yellow light offered a chance at comfort five feet down the alley, Aria couldn't summon the strength to rise and continue walking. She was much too broken up as she continued to despair over what the future had in store for her. The vast majority of her relatives were either dead, far away or estranged and the neighborhood she was hiding in housed scores of low-lives. Aria clenched her teeth as catcalls and perverse pick-up lines flooded her conscience followed by a montage of unkempt men advancing on her with drunken lust in their glassy eyes.

Aria violently shook her head to dissolve the memories and looked ahead to the end of the alley. The light illuminated a small circle of comfort, but also shrouded what was beyond it in even more darkness. _A bit like what will happen to me_, she bitterly guessed. _Though what do you expect when you've just been to hell?_

A smattering of footsteps several feet behind her made Aria turn to look. Her eyes widened in shock and rage as three men stumbled towards her laughing and joking about lewd things amongst each other. The first one was bald and built like a monster truck, the kind that could probably snap a steel beam in two without breaking a sweat. The second looked like a haggard Justin Timberlake and wore a brown tee, scratched up leather jacket and sagging jeans. The last one looked to be no more than 17 years old, with shaggy blond hair and an Iron Maiden T-shirt and tight black jeans on. They were all much taller than Aria, whose skinny frame stood no taller than a young child. Even if her future did seem as dark as the moonless sky above her, there was no way in hell Aria was going to stay here and wind up in the clutches of three drunken men.

Aria pushed herself up and ran, preparing to scream as she grew closer to the end. The men, realizing that their little "toy" was escaping, followed close behind with thudding footsteps. Even though the alley was fairly short, it seemed like an endless corridor that kept teasing Aria about the promise of safety at the end.

"Y'don't wanna have a li'l fun ki'n?" Muscleman slurred. "We gon' make ya feel real good t'night!"

Aria pivoted around to cuss out the pervert, but tripped on her own two feet and fell back down. She scrambled to get up only for a pair of toned arms to lift her and clutch her to the torso they were attached to. Aria kicked her legs back and forth in an attempt to hit the other two in the groin, but they merely laughed and dodged the impending blows with surprising ease.

"LET ME GO YOU FUCKING ASSHOLES!" Aria screamed at them as she kept kicking in the air. "SOMEBODY HELPME! I'M BEING-"

Leather Jacket slapped her across the face, leaving a crimson mark on her cheek. Aria glared at him like a rabid animal in a feeble attempt at intimidation. He stared at her for a while and then chuckled, shaking his head as if to say "Seriously?"

"You think this is funny?" Aria shouted at him. "Watching me getting strangled by Muscleman here?" She struggled to free herself to prove her point. "Then ripping my clothes off and raping me while I scream in horror? It's people like YOU that have ruined my life and you will all ROT IN HELL if I've anything to say about it!"

Leather Jacket exchanged a look with Muscleman and then Shaggy Blond, trying to piece together Aria's tirade in their clouded minds.

"You asswipes need to let me go now or I'll scream so loud you'll swear your fucking ears are bleeding rivers!" Aria coldly commanded.

Her icy tone failed to achieve the desired reactions; instead Muscleman dropped Aria to the ground in a heap and the three drunkards pounced on her like starved lions. They hiked up her skirt and petticoat and scrabbled for the waistband of her panties with clumsy movements. Aria furiously kicked, clawed and screamed in one final attempt to stop the inevitable horror awaiting her.

Just as Leather Jacket began pulling down his jeans, a series of barks echoed down the alley getting louder as they drew towards the group. With a whoosh of air, a small blur lunged at Leather Jacket's throat and bit down hard. Leather Jacket tried yanking it away from him but the attacker held fast and dug its teeth deeper into the flesh until it began drawing blood.

Muscleman and Shaggy Blond let Aria go and tried to help their drinking buddy, but the alcohol that raged in their systems hampered their rescue attempts and seemed to cause even more damage to Leather Jacket. Aria got to her feet, brushed the dirt off of her clothes and watched with the flailing drunkards with smug amusement. She didn't bother fleeing the scene and getting an officer to arrest them; heck she didn't even care if Leather Jacket had to go to the hospital with lacerations and alcohol poisoning.

Payback's a real sweet bitch, Aria concluded as she giggled.

The little attacker eventually let go of Leather Jacket's throat and hopped down in front of Aria like a little guard. A deep animalistic growl rumbled from far within its throat, warning the others of a similar fate. With girlish yelps Muscleman, Leather Jacket and Shaggy Blond whipped around and sprinted away.

"Good riddance," Aria muttered with a smirk. She then shifted her attention to her savior and bent down to get a closer look. Standing no more than one foot was a pinkish-purple dog with three small black patches of fur on his back and stick-thin limbs. His large brown-black ears hung down the sides of his head and quivered along as the dog whimpered in horror.

This dog's a complete wuss, Aria thought with disdain. But he's the only one that's helped me out, so I can't complain too much about that. She clucked her tongue and held out her hand to get the dog's attention. He eventually turned around, cautiously sniffed Aria's hand and finally nuzzled it as if her hand was the safest thing in the world.

"It's okay," Aria cooed quietly. "I'm not going to hurt you." She scooped the dog up into her arms without hesitation and cradled him like a frightened child. The dog sighed and snuggled up to Aria's chest before falling asleep.

Aria looked around the alley one last time and then walked down towards the streetlamp at the end, which didn't seem as far away now than it did a while ago. I wonder what this dog's name is, she thought. I can't refer to it as a 'he' forever. Hell I don't even know if he has an owner missing him.

Once she stepped into the pool of light at the end of the alley, Aria looked down and noticed a teal collar around the dog's neck with a tarnished circle tag hanging down. Engraved on it was:

Courage

5678 Beldam Rd.

Nowhere, KS 98666

"How fitting," Aria mused.

**I hope I made Aria's near rape seem plausible enough - it's the first time I've ever written such a thing...**

**Comments, critiques, faves and follows are welcome! Thanks for reading! **


	2. Nostalgic Angst

**A little backstory for Aria and a location from episodes past awaits you readers! Enjoy!**

**I don't own **_**Courage the Cowardly Dog**_**.**

"Mame, is that a service animal?" the bus driver bluntly asked with a critical eye.

Clutching a somewhat emaciated and quivering purple dog, Aria looked a bit like the people who usually get the bus at 1 A.M. Her pale skin seemed translucent under the fluourescent lights, her brown hair limply hung in a pair of dirty pigtails and her emerald eyes were rimmed with fatigue. Streaks of different hues decorated her wine-colored Lolita dress and yellow began creeping into the flowery white lace at the hem. Her striped stockings and black lace gloves donned signs of wear and tear all over and Aria's Mary-Jane shoes were scuffed until they were more dingy gray than rich red. A plain black, dollar store backpack bulged from her back like some odd mutation, stuffed with memories and traumas that the owner preferred forgotten.

"Yes he is," Aria nodded wearily. "I've PTSD and he helps keep me calm." Not entirely false, she thought to herself.

"Ah, I'm sorry to hear," the driver bobbed his head in sympathy.

Aria dropped the quarter for her fare and slowly walked towards the back of the bus. Save for a goth kid slumped over in his seat in the throws of a hangover (at least that's what it seemed like), Aria was the only other person on here.

_And thank Jesus that's a good thing_, she thought to herself as she set her down in the aisle seat before taking the window seat.

As the bust closed the doors and chugged away from the stop, Aria sighed and looked out the window as the world whizzed by. Eventually, the charming townhouses gave way to a desolate junkyard that could've been at home in a post-apocalyptic video game. Abandoned factories gazed on with shattered eyes and smokestacks that seemed to belch toxic fumes into the smoggy air, accompanied by a soundtrack of car alarms, snarling Rottweilers and distant gunshots.

The Wrong Side of the Tracks, as the locals named this slice of Hell, was where good will and faith came to die and chauvinism and evil reigned supreme over those who drowned below the poverty line. Nobody ever ventured there unless they got mixed up with the gangs who called The Wrong Side home, and that encounter ended with their corpses strewn across the filthy alleys, slashed and gutted beyond recognition nearly every time. Aria wondered which decrepit shack her uncle was in, shoving a dirty needle filled with potent heroin into his arm.

_Another piece of shit in the pile known as my family_, Aria spat out of her mind. _Seems like I'm the one who even came out as okay while everyone else is getting high as a kite, murdered or shoving their heads up their asses. Would it've killed them to just look around and notice me?_

_Even then_, she added as she leaned back into her seat, _I may've become just as bad as they did. I may not be shitfaced like Mom or hot-tempered like Dad, but what do I have to show for it? I at least got taken out of their lives, but nobody had the patience (hell, the balls) to guide me. Unless one counts learning how to sass out complete dicks as a life lesson, I'm pretty much fucked. _

A whimper next to her brought Aria out of her angst and she looked down at the dog who saved her. "Courage" as his name tag declared, was pretty much the only good thing that happened to her in about two years. Even though he seemed to revert to "pussy mode" after scaring off her three would-be rapists, Courage could at least provide some protection for Aria.

"A little guardian angel for me," Aria murmured, scratching Courage behind the ears. His neck stretched out further as his eyes drooped shut in pleasure, a barely audible whine trapped behind his closed mouth.

"5678 Beldam Road!" the bus driver called out.

Aria and Courage snapped to attention, the latter with anxiety and relief etched onto his face. The address on his collar...

Scooping Courage up in her arms and securing her backpack once more, Aria scooted out from her seat and walked up the aisle. The drunk goth didn't stir an inch since she boarded (I sure hope you don't end up on The Wrong Side, Aria threatened in her head).

"Have a good evening," the driver said. "Say do you live here?"

Aria balked at the top of the steps and looked out. The faint outline of a brown farmhouse stood without a single comforting light in the window. Save for the windmill going around and around a few feet next to it, the homestead seemed to be devoid of life. This was where Courage lived?

"Uh, well," Aria stammered while attempting to BS an answer. "Yes actually. I stayed out a bit too late and I really don't want to keep my family worrying. Mom's probably crying out that I ended up in The Wrong Side!"

The driver chuckled. "Well I won't keep you waiting any longer," he replied with a small smile. Stay safe."

_Define "safe",_ Aria thought as she stepped off the one safe spot she's been in a long time before walking straight to the house. The bus drove off into the distance once Aria walked a few feet away from it and Courage soon leaped from her arms and began sprinting for the house.

"GODDAMMIT COURAGE!" Aria cried out before running after the dog. "YOU BETTER NOT RUN OFF FROM ME LIKE THAT!" _Jesus how fast is this mutt?_ she thought.

By the time Aria reached Courage at the front porch, she was out of breath and cursing her shoes for not being suitable for running on the dusty ground. She rubbed her eyes to get rid of the annoying particles out for a minute before looking down to see that Courage was gone. _Shit._

As she let her eyes adjust to the darkness, Aria noticed the front door slightly ajar behind the busted up screen door. Not a soul was stirring and not even a mouse, save for Courage who was probably sniffing the hell out of the house.

Aria pulled the screen door away, which creaked loudly in protest and quietly stepped inside the dark abode.

And then the Slenderman comes and eats her! Haha just kidding! Slendy's not involved in this fanfiction, though I do have one if you're into hot Slenderman on delusional chick action in "Hopeless Romantic"!

Hope you enjoy this spooky treat and I wish all a fun and safe Halloween! Reviews, faves and follows are most welcome too!


End file.
